Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

GODA & CO. LLP is a limited liability partnership and full-service law firm registered in India, with its office at Titanium One, 1303–1304, Sarkhej–Gandhinagar Highway, Near Pakwan Cross Roads, Bodakdev, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380054.

For the purposes of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the Firm is the Data Fiduciary in respect of personal data collected through this Website. Where you provide personal data to us, you are the Data Principal.

2. What this Policy does and does not cover

This Policy applies to personal data collected through the Website.

It does not apply to information you share with the Firm in the course of a professional engagement. Once you become a client, information shared with us in that capacity is governed by advocate–client confidentiality and professional privilege under Section 132 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, the Advocates Act, 1961, the Bar Council of India Rules and your engagement letter with the Firm. Those obligations are stricter than this Policy, and nothing in this Policy limits them.

3. Personal data we collect

3.1 Information you give us

When you submit the enquiry form on our Contact page, we collect:

• Full name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Subject / matter type (Corporate Law, Litigation, Property Law, Contracts, Other)
• Any details you choose to include in your message

If you apply for a role with the Firm, or write to us directly by email, we also collect the contact details, curriculum vitae, qualifications, work history and any other information you choose to send us.

Please do not submit confidential, privileged or sensitive information about a live legal matter through the enquiry form. Use the form to tell us the nature of your requirement and how to reach you. Detailed facts and documents should be shared only after a formal engagement is in place.

3.2 Information collected automatically

When you visit the Website, our hosting provider and analytics tools may automatically record technical information, including:

• IP address and approximate location (city or region level)
• Browser type, device type and operating system
• Pages visited, time spent, and referring URL
• Date and time stamps of requests, and server error logs

This information is used in aggregate to keep the Website secure and to understand how it is used. We do not use it to identify individual visitors.

3.3 Cookies and similar technologies

The Website uses a limited number of cookies and equivalent browser storage:

You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings. Doing so may affect certain features of the Website.

3.4 Third-party embeds

Our Contact page embeds Google Maps to display our office location. When that map loads, Google may receive your IP address and set its own cookies, governed by Google’s privacy policy rather than this one.

The Website is hosted on Vercel, which processes request and server log data on our behalf as part of delivering the site.

4. Why we use your personal data

We use personal data collected through the Website only for the following purposes:

• To respond to your enquiry and understand the nature of your requirement;
• To carry out conflict-of-interest and client acceptance checks before any engagement;
• To communicate with you about your enquiry, including by phone, email or WhatsApp using the contact details you provide;
• To assess applications for employment or internships with the Firm;
• To operate, secure, maintain and improve the Website;
• To comply with applicable law, regulatory requirements and the Bar Council of India Rules, and to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling, and we do not send marketing or promotional communications through this Website.

5. Legal basis for processing

We process your personal data on the basis of the consent you give when you voluntarily submit the enquiry form or otherwise contact us, and for the legitimate uses recognised under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 — including where processing is necessary to comply with a legal obligation or a judicial or regulatory order.

You may withdraw your consent at any time by writing to us at the address in Section 12. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal, and may mean we can no longer respond to your enquiry.

6. Disclosure of personal data

We do not sell, rent or trade personal data. We disclose it only in the following circumstances:

• Within the Firm — to partners, advocates and staff who need it to respond to your enquiry or assess your application;
• To service providers — our website host, email provider and IT support, who process data on our instructions under confidentiality obligations, and only to the extent necessary to provide their services;
• Where required by law — to courts, tribunals, regulators, statutory authorities or law enforcement, where disclosure is required by law or by an order of a competent authority;
• To protect rights — where necessary to establish, exercise or defend the Firm’s legal rights, or to prevent fraud, security incidents or misuse of the Website.

7. Data retention

We retain enquiry data for as long as necessary to respond to your enquiry and to maintain our conflict-check records. Where no engagement follows, enquiry records are ordinarily retained for [e.g. three (3) years] and then deleted or anonymised.

Where an engagement does follow, client records are retained in accordance with the Firm’s file retention practice and any applicable statutory, limitation or professional requirements. Recruitment data is retained for [e.g. one (1) year] from the date of application unless you ask us to delete it sooner.

8. Security

We apply reasonable security practices and procedures proportionate to the nature of the data we hold, including access restrictions, encrypted transmission (HTTPS), secured devices and accounts, and confidentiality obligations on all personnel.

No method of transmission over the internet is entirely secure. While we take our obligations seriously, we cannot guarantee absolute security of data transmitted to us over the internet, and any transmission is at your own risk. If a personal data breach occurs, we will notify the Data Protection Board of India and affected Data Principals as required under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

9. Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:

• Access — obtain a summary of the personal data we hold about you and how it is processed;
• Correction and completion — have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected or updated;
• Erasure — request deletion of your personal data where it is no longer required for the purpose it was collected and no legal obligation requires us to retain it;
• Withdraw consent — at any time, as described in Section 5;
• Nominate — nominate another individual to exercise your rights in the event of your death or incapacity;
• Grievance redressal — raise a grievance with our Grievance Officer, and escalate to the Data Protection Board of India if unresolved.

To exercise any of these rights, write to us using the details in Section 12. We may ask you to verify your identity before acting on a request, and will respond within a reasonable period.

Please note that the right of erasure does not extend to information we are required to retain under law, professional rules, or an ongoing or potential legal proceeding.

10. Children

The Website is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data of children through it. Where we do process the personal data of a child in the course of a legal matter, we do so in accordance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, including obtaining verifiable parental or guardian consent where required.

11. Storage and transfers

Personal data collected through the Website may be stored or processed on servers operated by our hosting and email providers, which may be located outside India. Where data is transferred outside India, we take reasonable steps to ensure it remains protected consistently with this Policy and with applicable Indian law.

12. Grievance Officer and contact

If you have any question, request or complaint regarding this Policy or your personal data, please contact:

Grievance Officer: [Name]
Designation: [Designation]
GODA & CO. LLP
Titanium One, 1303–1304, Sarkhej–Gandhinagar Highway,
Near Pakwan Cross Roads, Bodakdev, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380054
Email: [grievance@godacompany.com / legal@godacompany.com]
Phone: +91 9924318180

We will acknowledge your grievance and endeavour to resolve it within [e.g. thirty (30) days] of receipt. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may approach the Data Protection Board of India.

13. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or in applicable law. The revised Policy takes effect from the date it is published on this page. We encourage you to review it periodically.

14. Governing law

This Policy is governed by the laws of India. Any dispute in relation to it is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts and tribunals at Ahmedabad, Gujarat.